VW TDI Buy-back... not sure what to get now?

[Greg]

Make sure to triple check the steering. Especially the rack and pinion that it's not leaking. Check the control arms as well. All very expensive and time consuming to change.

Control arms have actually been replaced recently, as well as front CV shafts. Thanks for the tips!

 

[moab_cj5]

I'm selling a 2005 Mercedes S430 AMG sport AWD for my inlaws. It's not a manual, but it is fun to drive. Has high miles. $6k is the asking price.


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[Greg]

I'm selling a 2005 Mercedes S430 AMG sport AWD for my inlaws. It's not a manual, but it is fun to drive. Has high miles. $6k is the asking price.

Oh man! Have a link or pics? AMG = badass!

That's a BIG car, probably too big for my needs!

 

[moab_cj5]

Oh man! Have a link or pics? AMG = badass!

I am working on listing it tonight. Here are some pics though.

Also comes with 4 snow tires.


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[Greg]

Beautiful! I think that car is good for another 260k miles, Mercedes are built VERY well. Looks excellent for the miles, too. Way too much car for me though... but thanks for the pics!

 

[moab_cj5]

Beautiful! I think that car is good for another 260k miles, Mercedes are built VERY well. Looks excellent for the miles, too. Way too much car for me though... but thanks for the pics!

You bet. I was just throwing it out there.


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[Greg]

Well, the 2002 Audi A4 was nice and looked pretty clean.... but the interior was pretty well worn. Things like the headlight switch, window switches, etc were all worn. Plus parts of the interior looked dirty. On top of that, the owner didn't mention the A/C wasn't working and that the cat needed to be replaced. In addition to the broken windshield that was mentioned, the other items all added up to more needed $$$ than I wanted to spend, considering they didn't want to budge on the price. Long story short, decided to pass on the older Audi. Still looking, but it was worth my time to go check it out IMO...

 

[Tonkaman]

Smart move

 

[Greg]

Test drove a '13 Ford Focus ST this evening, on a whim... this car is like a VW GTI-fighter. It has a Ford EcoBoost 2.0 turbo engine, manual trans and makes ‎270 lb-ft and ‎252 hp. The car I drove has a bunch of mods, including a very annoying Roush exhaust. It was pretty enjoyable to drive (other than the resonation from the exhaust), the turbo didn't seem to pull super hard but the torque curve seemed very smooth & linear. If you open it up, it gets up to speed (and beyond) pretty quickly. You can drive it and stay out of the boost and it moves just fine... but step on the throttle and it really moves! Kinda makes me think...

 

[Greg]

OK, so all the paperwork and verifying is done with the buy-back. I had some paperwork delays on my end that added another week. The soonest I could return my Jetta was Dec 27th, but I'm not available then, so I scheduled it for Jan 4th.

At this point I'm leaning towards a '14+ Jetta 1.8T, I think the MPG's, reliability and turbo will make for a car that I'll be happy with. Guess we'll see!

 

[Greg]

Well, the search is over! Yesterday I picked up a lightly used 2014 Jetta SE with 30k miles, the 1.8T engine, 5 speed manual transmission and leather interior. Paid $11.5k, so at least it's paid off (thanks to the TDI buyback)!

It's really just a boring Jetta... really nothing too special. Driving it is interesting, it's pretty mild driving around at low RPM's. The turbo doesn't seem to fully spool up until almost 4k RPM... and from there it pulls HARD right to the 6k redline! Driving it is totally opposite of my tuned TDI! This is my first non-diesel Volkswagen.

 

[Hickey]

Nice score. Should last you a very long time.

 

[Cascadia]

Why did you decide against a tdi? Cause I know you didn't totally care about the emissions fiasco. What does a 1.8t get for mpg nowadays? We had a 1.8t TT and loved it and got 28 consistently and 35 on the road a few times.

 

[Greg]

Nice score. Should last you a very long time.

I sure hope so! 10 yrs would be great.... even more would be a bonus!

Why did you decide against a tdi? Cause I know you didn't totally care about the emissions fiasco. What does a 1.8t get for mpg nowadays? We had a 1.8t TT and loved it and got 28 consistently and 35 on the road a few times.

They don't have an approved fix for the effected cars, but I read that they MAY be able to fix the 2015+ TDI's. I figured for the money I'd be better off spending all the buyback money on a newer, gasoline replacement.

I put 350 miles on this tank of gas so far and have been averaging 38 MPG with a lot of highway & freeway driving.

 

[Marsh99]

Has anyone heard good or bad about the chevy cruze diesel? I saw they make a chevy cruze hatchback diesel with a 6 speed manual... something like 52 mpg... very tempting.